Monday, September 2, 2013

True enough, Barack Obama is fulfilling all the negative
expectations that conservatives had for him. Yet, the Republican Party has not presented
anyone who can provide the leadership America needs.

The first point is beyond dispute. Even Fareed Zakaria,
pillar of the foreign policy establishment, declares that Obama has completely
botched the situation in Syria:

But the
manner in which the Obama administration has first created and then mismanaged
this crisis will, alas, cast a long shadow on America’s role in the world.

But, which Republican looks like a credible world leader?

John McCain?

Lindsey Graham?

Marco Rubio?

Mitt Romney?

Keep in mind, in the second presidential debate of 2012, the
debate on foreign policy, Romney managed to lose to Barack Obama.

Simon notes the obvious:

At no
time in our history, at least in my increasingly long lifetime, has there been
such a dearth of key political leadership in our country on both sides of the
ideological divide — and at a moment when the world seems about to explode.

Much as
they have a great deal to recommend domestically, I’m sorry but Ted Cruz and
Rand Paul — the leading “conservatarian” lights of the Senate — do not seem
prepared to deal with Syria, Egypt, Iran, Pakistan, Yemen, Hezbollah, Hamas,
al-Qaeda, North Korea, and, of course, Russia and China.

Perhaps Republicans will find a leader among the nation’s
governors. But, Rick Perry does not seem quite ready to walk onto the world
stage. Nor does Scott Walker, for that matter.

If you think Obama is bad, what about his presumptive
successor, Hillary Clinton. Considering how badly foreign relations
deteriorated while she was Secretary of State, will she be credible as a world
leader? Do you believe that the world will feel more respect for a nation that
elects a woman whose claim to fame was serial humiliation?

The world is watching. Seeing that America has elected
Barack Obama twice it has concluded that America no longer wants to exercise
world leadership.

So, the world is reorganizing.

Witness Vladimir Putin. The president of Russia never misses
an opportunity to poke a finger in America’s eye. He does it because he knows that
he can get away with it.

In return, Obama stooped below even his standards and called
Putin a bored child in a classroom. Is that the way a world leader tries to
reset relations with an important nation?

Obama’s playground antics notwithstanding, Putin has
surveyed the world political scene and decided that the future is no longer
with America. He no longer believes that the American way of life, the American
mix of liberal democracy and free enterprise is lighting the way to a better
future.

As an
alternative to the West, Mr Putin points to the East, hailing China’s rise as a
colossal chance to catch its “wind in the sails of our economy”. China and
Russia, he has argued, each need the other to be strong and prosperous. Neither
lectures the other on human rights. China sees Russia as a safe resource-base
which would be strategically important in case of escalating tension between
China and America. To prove the point, Xi Jinping, China’s new leader, made
Moscow his first port of call.

If, as Simon says, the Pax Americana is over, the world’s
nations will be seeking new alliances. More importantly, they will be seeking new role
models.

Simon tries to paint an optimistic picture, but he cannot
escape the observation that this is all a sign that America is in decline:

They
say that the people get the leaders they deserve — and that may have been our
problem. Maybe we have lost the soul of our country and we are, as they trumpet
in the Syrian newspapers, beginning our decline. (Maybe we began it a few years
ago.)

One likes to remain hopeful. One likes to think that a new
leader will step forth from the American heartland. But then, what are the odds
that America, given a choice between someone who can exercise leadership and a Hillary
Clinton will decide rightly?

2 comments:

The key for Republicans may be in the selection of people who have a strong proven record in the foreign policy arena. Obama has little or no experience in foreign policy and every one of his advisors are less than adequate. They are almost clones of Obama's world view.What we really need are people who actually like this country and don't see it as the enemy of the rest of the planet. We have done far more good than we have bad and that bad came from an over abundance of good intentions. The candidate needs to be someone who is going to build back America's confidence and in its ability to solve problems. A good foreign policy advisor like John Bolton would help to create more confidence in America's direction and place in the world. When one spends their time trying to be liked they are almost never respected.Again it is the people who surround the president that make the real difference in every area of expertise. As long as the president has a strong core of beliefs that is guided by principle that help to guide the foundation of this country we will prosper. America is the solution not the problem. A more realistic approach and less theoretical folderol.

1. Does POTUS/CinC have Constitutional Authority to initiate wars/invasions on his own? Striking Syria w/missiles Alone is an Act of War. I doubt it would end there.

2. Poison gas is horrific. As are being blown to bits, burned to death, mutilated, etc. Decisions of State cannot be based on justified emotion or ordinary morality. The World is a ruthless jungle.

3. The Islamic ME is "a tangle of pathologies". The West cannot solve them. ME people must, probably w/ghastly consequences.

4. Foreign Policy is "one damn thing after another". The one thing we can be sure of is that peoples & nations serve their own interests. E.g., Putin's policies are perfectly rational in his own terms.